New Bedford finds way into WikiLeaks document

Tuesday

Apr 22, 2014 at 12:01 AMApr 22, 2014 at 5:53 AM

NEW BEDFORD — Although devoid of the earth-shattering revelations found in some of its fellow documents, the New Bedford City Council was the subject of a document leaked in the single largest release of classified material in history — the WikiLeaks "Secret US Embassy Cables."

SIMÓN RIOS

NEW BEDFORD — Although devoid of the earth-shattering revelations found in some of its fellow documents, the New Bedford City Council was the subject of a document leaked in the single largest release of classified material in history — the WikiLeaks "Secret US Embassy Cables."

Originating in the U.S. embassy in Baghdad, an August 2008 memo details a mock council meeting conducted for the sake of officials in Iraq's Diyala province.

"Iraqi officials came away impressed by the relative power over budget and other activities at the city level in the U.S.," the document said. "They also saw firsthand how to run an effective and more efficient council meeting."

The televised meeting was held at Hanscom Air Force Base on a Sunday in August 2008, designed to show "how American democracy works at the local level," according to a Standard-Times article at the time.

Marked "unclassified//for official use only," the 711-word memo is marked "CROCKER" at the end. Ryan Crocker was the U.S. ambassador to Iraq from 2007 to 2009.

The mock meeting was closed to the media. On the Iraqi side, it was attended by representatives from every district and subdistrict in Diyala. At one point, an Iraqi television newswoman noted that the council had several women members, asking what the council thought women had to contribute to the process.

"After a pause, the Council President discussed the importance of elected officials reflecting the diversity of their communities because all members of society had important contributions to make in a democratic process," the document said.

The "Cablegate" leak consists of 251,287 cables sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates, embassies and diplomatic missions between 1966 and 2010. The document appeared to be the only one that referenced "New Bedford." It can be viewed at bit.ly/1ncjFdb.

Bordering Iran to the east and Baghdad to the west, Diyala province has a bloody history. Designated as the capital of the Islamic caliphate that the militant group al-Qaeda in Iraq planned to set up in the country, U.S. and allied forces launched an intense campaign to rid the region of the militants.

In all, 266 coalition forces were killed in Diyala over the course of the war.

Eleven months into U.S. democratization efforts in Diyala, the New Bedford City Council held its mock meeting. While on leave in New Bedford, an American soldier stationed in Iraq was seen taking notes at a City Council meeting, according to Jane Gonsalves, president of the council at the time. Gonsalves said the New Bedford native was approached after the council meeting, and Councilor Brian Gomes suggested the mock meeting.

Though she opposed the war, Gonsalves said it was one of the high points of her career as councilor.

"I think what we did in trying to promote democracy at the local level was a good thing, and I'm proud that I did it," Gonsalves said.

Brian Glyn Williams, a professor of Islamic history at UMass Dartmouth, said the document presents "an extraordinary window into how the war in Iraq even reached small towns like New Bedford."

Although he said the premise of the invasion of Iraq was false — the supposed link to al-Qaeda and weapons of mass destruction — there was a silver lining in events like the mock council meeting.

"The silver lining on the cloud was that we did get to plant the seed of democracy in (places) like Diyala," Williams said.

"Certainly for the 4,500 Americans who lost their lives, I don't think it was (worth the price). I think it was too big a sacrifice."

People continue dying in Diyala — just not U.S. soldiers, the last of whom left Iraq in December 2011. About 19 people were killed or wounded when an IED exploded in the province in March, according to Iraqinews.com. And on April 2, "terrorist groups" detonated the new building of Diyala Health Directorate in Baqubah, the capital of Diyala.

Councilor Linda Morad recalls being criticized for holding the meeting, though she was proud that she participated.

"I felt very rewarded at the end of the session to think that maybe something we were doing was great and that we were helpful to others," she said.

"This is just hopefully my way of supporting the decisions this country made, and hopefully helping (Iraq to be) a democratic state."

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